Apparatus for extinguishing fires



(No Model.)

E. KENDALL.

APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES. No. 340,127. Patented Apr. 20, 1886.

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wurmuilmri UNITED STATES? v PATENT ErrcEO APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES.

FQPECIEICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 340,127, dated April 20, 18@

Application filed January 23, 1884. Seri.|lNo.1l8,3-5. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, EDWARD KENDALL, of Cambridgeport, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a 5 new and useful Method of and Apparatus for Extinguishing Fires, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved method of and apparatus for extinguishing tires in buildings; and it consists in certain novel arrangements and combinations of devices, which will be readily understood by reference to the description of the drawings and to the claim to be hereinafter given.

Figure l is a partial vertical section ot a building with my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section of the same on line a: a; ou Fig. l, and Fig. 3 is a detail illustrating the devices for automatically controlling the operation of the water supply pump.

A and B are two cylindrical tanks, made ot' boiler-iron of sufiicient strength to withstand with safety a pressure ot', say, two hundred pounds per square inch, and connected together at their upper ends by the pipe C, which is provided with the valve or gate C', by which communication between said tanks may be closed at will. rlhe tank A is filled with water, and the tank B with air` compressed to, say, ten or fteen atmospheres, which pressure is transmitted through the pipe C to the upper surface of the water contained in the tank A whenever the Valve C is opened.

D is a stand-pipe communicating at its lower end with the interior ot' the tank A, and extending upward through the several stories of the building, and having its upper end closed. This pipe D is located near a vertical tier of windows, E, and is provided upon each story with one or more branch pipes, D', and cocks D2, to each of which is coupled a section of hose, F, provided with a suitable discharge pipe or nozzle, a, said hose F and cocks D'2 being so arranged relative to the windows that they may be readily reached from the exte rior of the building through said windows, if necessary.

The tank A is lled with water by means of the pump G, which communicates with the interior of the tank A through the pipe b, as shown.

The pipe D is provided with a pivoted gate, c, (shown in section in Fig. 3,) which, when the Water in said pipe is in a quiescent state, remains in the position shown in said Fig. 3, but is moved upward around its axis as soon as an upward current ot' the water in said pipe takes place.

The gate c is mounted upon a short rockershaft, c', one end of which projects through the casing H, and has firmly secured thereto the arm d, the movable end of which is conuected to one end of the rode, the opposite end of which is pivoted to the movable end of the arm f, secured to the stem of the valve of the steampump G, as shown in Fig. 1.

The tank B may be iilled with air under pressure by means ot' an air pump or compressor, if desired, or by filling the tank A with water with the valve or gate C' open, by which operation the air contained in the tank A is driven over into the tank B, nearly doub ling its pressure, when the valve C is closed, the cock J is opened, and the water is drawn from the tank A through the cock K. Vhen the wateris allwithdrawn,the cocksJ-and Kare closed, the valve C is opened, and the pump is again set in motion and the tank A is again iilled with water, thereby forcing the air contained therein over into the tank B and adding another atmosphere to the pressure there in. These operations may be repeated till the desired pressure is obtained within the tanks A and B, when the apparatus is ready for use in case of tire, and will remain so for an indelinite period or until the occasion arises for its use.

L L are balconies extending along the front of the second and third floors ofthe building, and connected by ladders M M, to serve as a lire-escape.

In some cases I propose to use sprinklers in the several rooms or on the several tioors of the building, in which case one or more pipes, N, branch from the stand-pipe D and extend upward-one to each of the floors or stories `ot' the buildingand communicate with the horizontal sprinkler-pipes O O, arranged just beneath the ceiling on each story, as shown.

P P are cocks or valves for controlling the passage of water through the pipes N N.

The operation 0f my invention is as follows: The tanks A and B being charged to the desired pressure and a lire being discovered in IOO the building, the party discovering it, if in l the building, would make his way to the hosepipe F that is most convenient to the re, either by going from room to room or by stepping out of a window upon one of the balconies L, and opening or breaking the Window nearest to said hose, and, reaching in, seize and uncoil the hose, and then open the val ve or cock D2, when the pressure upon the upper surface of the water in the tank A would cause the water to be forced vtherefrom up the pipeD and be discharged through the hose-pipe in whatever direction the operator saw tit to direct it. The starting of the column of water up the pipe D would cause thegpivoted gate c to be moved upward about its a'xis, thereby opening the valve for admission ofsteam tothe steam-cylinder of the pump G, thereby setting said pun-1p in motion and causing it to force Water into the tank A, to supply the deficiency occasioned by the removal of the water discharged from the hosepipe upon the iire and keep up the pressure in the tanks A and B. y

lf the apparatus is tted up with the sprinkler-pipes O O, the operator opens the valve P in the pipe N leading to the room or floor upon which the fire is raging, when the pressure in the tanks A and B will cause the room or floor where the tire is to be flooded with water, and at the same time the pump G-will be set in operation to pump water into the tank A and maintain the desired pressure, as before described. Y

The apparatus shown and described is represented as applied to a large mill or factory where steam-power is used, and where steam sufcient to work the pump G is maintained during the night; but I do not wish to be limited to such a use of my apparatus, as it is obvious that my air and water tanks and pipe system may be used to great advantage in buildings where'no steam or other power is i available during the night,if only the requisite means are at hand for filling the tanks with water and air at the desired pressure during the day-time, so that the apparatus is ready charged at a pressure, say, of two hundred Apounds per square inch.

lf a iire occurs, the operator has only to open the necessary cock or valve, the apparatus being ready for instant use, when the water in tank A will be discharged upon the fire till none remains in said tank, at which time the pressure will have been reduced to one hundred pounds per square inch, when its usefulness will cease till the tank Acan be again lled with water.

If the tanks A and B are made of considerable capacity and are kept properly charged, they would in many cases be sufficient to extinguish the lire without the aid of the fire department, and in all cases where the fire vis discovered in season for the apparatus to be available it would materially aid in the ex- Atinguishment of the fire'.

I am aware of the employment for extinv gushng res of chemical engines, so called,l

in which a pressure is generated in a receptacle containing a liquid by the commingling of certain chemicals; and I do not claim anything contained in such apparatus.

It is obvious that substantially the same effect may b e produced by using a single tank filled about half-full of water, and having the remaining space filled with compressed comf mon airl;and therefore I do not wish to be ,limited to the use of two tanks, althoughl I prefer to use two tanks, as being more convenient than one.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

In an apparatus for extinguishing fires, the

combination of one or more tanks or receptacles filled with air and water under pressure, a

discharge-pipe leading therefrom to the top of the building, a pump for' supplying water to said tank, a valve or lgate in said dischargepipe arranged and adapted to be operated by the movement of the waterthrough said' pipe, and a rod connecting said valve or gate with the valves of the pump, whereby the upward flow of water through said discharge-pipe will cause said pump to be set in mot-ion, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses, on this 21st day of January, A. D. 1884.

EDWARD KENDALL.

fitnessesrl N. C. LOMBARD, WALTER E. LOMBARD. 

